- B - Black Spiders, Black Robot, Black Stone Cherry, Black Rose

What keeps the passion for music? Why keep collecting? Why, when the average number of cd purchases per year for music lovers is only 9 do I buy more than that per month? Simple answer is new bands arrive like the Black Spiders and their debut Sons Of The North. It's not massively original but in the shadow of AC/DC and Motorhead (both of whom the Spiders have covered) it's just a fun and energetic blast of noise. For a change, believe the hype they are excellent.

Staying Black and moving over to the USA for the debut Black Robot, by Black Robot. Released in 2010 there are no weak tracks on this album; standouts include Baddass and an excellent cover of Cocaine.

May as well keep Black and mention Black Stone Cherry and both their debut Black Stone Cherryand Folklore & Superstition as worthy additions to any rock collection.

Finally, staying with the Black theme I propose a somewhat obscure departure for Cher when she lead the excellent Black Rose for one recorded outing Black Rose. This seems to be available again on CD all be it with a dreadful cover, what was wrong with the original vinyl version? I am a fan of Cher from the hippy flower power through to the almost cabaret act of today but this slice of rock shows what she was capable of. I still remember the excitement of discovering the existence of the band from a Cher biography and then finding a copy many years ago at a record fair (ahh whatever happened to them)?